Moving Forward
by Logan GC
Summary: Cal Kestis can't sleep, still feeling restless from both the adventure he just went on and memories of a fallen friend. Lucky for the Jedi, a particular Nightsister is awake too and she will help Cal move forward. Slight Cal/Merrin pairing.


**Author's Notes: ** I do not own anything related to **Star Wars**. All characters and respective media belong to **Lucasfilm**, which in turn is owned by **Disney**. In this case, the characters and media are also owned by **Respawn Entertainment**, which is owned by **EA**. I only own the story. Story takes place shortly after the events of _Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order_. Enjoy.

Cal found her on the ship at night.

Well… technically they were in space, but the point was everyone else was sleeping. Greez and Cere are asleep, with the _Mantis' _captain having placed the ship on autopilot. BD also limited his power cells, the little droid in a kind of sleep mode as to not disturb the other living members onboard.

The orange-headed Jedi couldn't sleep. The last few days was quite the adventure, with that word being quite the understatement. His life had changed. Cal thought he would constantly keep his head low, destined to be a scrapper on Bracca. The former Padawan never thought he would have friends… a family… ever again when the Jedi Order collapsed.

The thought of his new friends also brought the redhead pain, his greenish-blue eyes heavy with memories of Prauf. His friend would have loved to be on the _Mantis_ rather than waste away on Bracca scrapping Republic and Separatist ships. And engineer like him would no doubt banter with Greez on how to better upgrade the _Mantis_. Cal could imagine taking a chuckle at that thought or wonder how Prauf would like BD. But now Prauf is gone… gone because of him.

To think of it, Cal never had the chance to mourn over his best friend Prauf. Ever since escaping the Inquisitors on Bracca, it was one planet to another with little time to rest and think. Finding the Astrium, uncovering the mystery of the Zeffo, and getting the Holocron was all on his mind. Now, the mission is over and that came with downtime. With no chance at sleeping and a time of recollection, the thought of Prauf's passing became all the more noticeable.

Perhaps that's why he couldn't sleep. After adventuring for days only for it to stop suddenly can make some people restless. For Cal especially, now that his life has changed dramatically. With Prauf being a casualty in that regard.

And yet here he was, quietly walking towards the cockpit as he finds Merrin, the resident Nightsister on their band of misfits. The native of Dathomir didn't appear to sleep either, the sorceress sitting the pilot seat as she gazes into the dark emptiness of space. She was sitting in the seat at a sideward angle, her pale hands resting on each leg. Because of this, she saw the young Jedi leaning by the doorframe.

Cal offers a kind smile. "Hey." The redhead greets in a lower voice, as to not disturb the other passengers on board.

Merrin reciprocates his smile with a grin of her own. "Hey." She repeats, her accent still noticeable to Cal's ears despite the Nightsister keeping her voice down as well.

The young Jedi gives a glance to one of the spare bunks before looking back to the sorceress. "Trouble sleeping?" The ginger guessed as he gestured a finger to one of the empty bunks in the back.

Merrin nods, her grin from earlier becoming a little strained. "You could say that." She replies before her eyes narrow in concern. "How is your stomach?" The Nightsister asks, her hazel eyes containing worry.

Cal's smile slightly falters, remembering how helpless he was at the hands of that… monster, and how he got impaled by his own lightsaber. It was probably one of the most terrifying moments of his life, thanking the Force that Cere managed to arrive as she did. For Merrin's sake, the orange-haired boy keeps his smile as his right hand reaches his side. "I feel better. Not a hundred percent but in a few days with some bacta and BD's healing stims, I should be good." The Jedi replies in a positive tone, feeling all the more better to see relief present in Merrin's eyes.

"Good, I'm glad." The Nightsister replies honestly as Cal moved inside the cockpit and sitting down in the co-pilot's seat.

Looking between Merrin and the vast emptiness of space, the young Jedi Knight hazarded a guess as to why she was not sleeping. "Still not used to being in outer space before?" Cal asked, curiosity present in his voice.

The pale-skinned sorceress nods. "All of my life, I had lived on Dathomir." She began, her voice containing both melancholy… and a sense of longing as she looks into the vast empty darkness of space. "Even though my sisters were gone and all that is left are the dead and the Nightbrothers… Dathomir is still my home." With that said, Merrin turns to Cal directly. "I suppose you can say I miss it. Dathomir may be horrifying, but it is still my home." She adds, before once more turning her head to give a glance outside the ship's front window. "I just never realized how big this galaxy is…" She trails off, returning her attention back to the young Jedi.

Cal gives a comforting grin. "I understand what you mean." The young man speaks, leaning back on the copilot's seat. "When the war started, I didn't know how large the universe was either. When I was younger, I wanted to see all the stars in every star system." The orange-haired boy speaks with fondness before a familiar sense of melancholy came over him. "I guess you can say I got my wish, I got to see the universe by fighting in a war that didn't really matter." He ends his sentence in a lower tone, remembering the betrayal of the clones turning on him… and Master Tapal.

For a few moments, the two Force-wielders sat in silence as they remember the fall of their respective orders and how it changed their lives. Merrin was right, a Jedi and a Nightsister traveling together sounded like the start of a bad joke. But her words still rang true about the two of them being survivors. And how survivors adapt.

With the atmosphere more comfortable, Cal spoke up again. "Did I ever tell you about my friend Prauf?" The orange-haired Jedi asked. When Merrin shook her head, the young man continued. "He was the friend I mentioned when we found the Astrium. Prauf was a lively guy, he wanted what was best for me." Cal explains before giving a short chuckle. "Before all of this, we found a Jedi starfighter on Bracca. He wanted to scrap it so that the credits used can get me off the planet, start a new life." The young man continues as Merrin listens closely. "Then the Inquisitors found me and Prauf…" Cal pauses before exhaling a breath. "…He sacrificed himself for me." The young Jedi finishes, his greenish-blue eyes downcast and filled with mourning over his dead friend.

To his surprise, Merrin placed a pale, dainty hand over one of his own. "Your friend would have been proud to have you moving forward." The Nightsister comforts, her hazel eyes meeting Cal's bright ones. "I learned to let go of the past that holds me down. For me, it was revenge, wasting years for my life wanting to avenge my sisters." Merrin states, leaning closer. "Your friend wants you to move on, Cal. That is how you honor his memory."

Cal listened to her advice and took Merrin's hand with his own, smiling at her. "Thanks." He replies thankfully, his voice filled with appreciation of how he needed to hear those words right now. It was a little strange that a Nightsister like Merrin could be someone he could relate to, but Cal was not going to be picky. Merrin feels like the friend he needs that can understand him, especially since they were both similar in age. The young man finds himself a little lost staring into Merrin's eyes, noticing how… pretty they are.

He must have stared a little too long as Merrin broke eyes contact first, with Cal noticing faint color on her cheeks. "Your welcome." She replied, the Nightsister looking suddenly shy in contrast to before.

Feeling awkward, Cal cleared his throat. "Oh, right… yeah. Thanks." The Jedi added, feeling heat creep up his neck as he sheepishly rubs the back of his head.

With that awkwardness returning, Cal spoke once again to not let it permeate the air. "I, um…" The ginger boy spoke up, getting the white-haired Nightsister's attention. "I also wanted to thank you about the Holocron." He added, with Merrin looking back in confusion.

"What do you mean?" The sorceress asks, a delicate eyebrow raised in curiosity as her blush from earlier dissipated.

"About what you said, about what would happen to the Force-sensitive children on that list." Cal clarified. "Before Trilla attacked me, I had a vision. It was me training the next generation of Jedi and how the Empire found out." The Jedi explains before his face grew more somber. "Suddenly, I was one of the Inquisitors… like Trilla." He reveals, feeling sympathy to the broken young woman who ended up dying by that monster's hands. Exhaling, Cal looks to Merrin, her attention fully devoted to Cal's words. "I realized that what you said was right and that I would have been endangering the children on that list, and in the end, I just couldn't allow that to happen." Cal finishes, a small grin appearing on his face. "Thanks for helping me realize that destroying the Holocron was the right choice in the end."

Merrin has a small grin of her own. "I'm glad I helped you in some way." She responds back before looking a bit embarrassed. "Also, sorry for trying to kill you on Dathomir." She apologized, with Cal chuckling quietly.

"You saved me from drowning earlier so I guess we're even." The Jedi joked, causing the two to share a quick laugh together. Nightsister and Jedi both looked into space, a whole galaxy waiting behind that glass. "So…" Cal began, getting Merrin's attention. "Where do you want to go next?"

The pale-skinned sorceress gives a small grin. "Somewhere… peaceful. With grass and water." She requests, causing Cal to smirk in return.

"Alright. I'll let Greez know tomorrow." The former Padawan promises as the two continue to sit in the cockpit together, their fingers from their respective hands still interlocking with the other and the whole galaxy to explore just waiting for them.

* * *

Cere found herself trying to smother her chuckling as she, Greez, and BD watch Cal and Merrin asleep in the cockpit the following morning.

"You think we should wake them?" Greez asked, his two sets of arms crossed over his chest with a mischievous twinkle present in the alien's eyes.

Cere smirks as she shakes her head. "Give them another ten minutes, captain." The dark-skinned woman requests asthe former Jedi Master noticing that even when sleeping, both Cal and Merrin still held the other's hands.

Greez, noticing where Cere is looking, chuckles. "You're gonna tease the kid until he's fifty, aren't you?" The captain asks, attempting to smother a grin that threatened to cover his face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Cere lies, not bothering to hide her smirk as BD toodles at the scene in front of him.

Greez chuckles once more before walking towards the ship's on-board kitchen. "Well before you have your fun Cere, have some breakfast first. You can tease Cal after you have a full stomach." He requests, the captain of the _Mantis_ preparing a meal.

Cere nods at Greez's words before looking down to her left, noticing BD still staring at Cal and Merrin's sleeping forms. BD then looks up to Cere, giving a happy whistle. "I'm glad you approve, BD." The former Jedi translates with a grin, returning her gaze back to Cal and how peaceful he looks in his sleeping form.

"Come on BD, give them another ten minutes. Cal's earned it." Cere requests, feeling a sense of happiness that her new apprentice can finally move on from the Jedi Purge.


End file.
